Thursday, September 19, 2013

National Talk like a Pirate Day

Hey have you ever heard that chant? Well if you have you
know exactly what I’m talking about, but have you ever thought about how the
Hampton Pirates mascot came about. Ironically, today Sept. 19, 2013, is
National Talk like a Pirate Day (yes this does exist). Today people everywhere
are taking time out of their busy schedules to talk like Pirates. Funny right?
Well, for us walking, talking, or living like a pirate is not hard to do. We do
365 days out of the year. So, to commemorate today’s festivities we will
explore just how exactly the Pirate became the mascot of Hampton.

Over 70 years ago in May 1933, in a vote conducted by the
Hampton Script, students selected “Pirates” as the official mascot of Hampton.
It was a pretty tough competition with competitors such as: Seasiders, Ironmen,
Buccaneers and Wildcats. Just think what it would be like if we were the
Hampton University Ironmen?Personally,
I am happy that the students voted on Pirates.

A journalist at the Norfolk New Journal and Guide who was also a contributor to the Script
suggested the name Pirates beause, “it seemed uniquely appropriate, because it
hadn’t been abused by a thousand other colleges.”The Pirate was not the only mascot suggestion
with symbolism; all of the choices shared this quality. However, the Pirates
were clearly victorious in this fight. Winning the votes of 307 students out of
the 577 that voted. From this point on Hamptonians were known as the Pirates.

So, there you have it, just a brief history on how we got
our name. So go and relish in the fun today and talk like a Pirate. It
shouldn’t be hard since you do it every day anyway. This is your day of celebration,
so celebrate! Show outsiders what it’s really like to be a Pirate!

The Pirate mascot interacting with the referee at the Hampton vs. Duke basketball game.